Jazz snap Blazers' winning streak

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah: Portland's 13-game NBA winning streak came to an end Monday as the Trail Blazers lost 111-101 to Utah.

Andrei Kirilenko had 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Jazz.

The Trail Blazers' previous loss came on December 2, and they were three victories away from tying the franchise record.

Portland coach Nate McMillan was attending a family funeral and not with the team to see the streak come to an end.

The Blazers couldn't overcome a cold stretch in the third quarter, going scoreless for almost three minutes and without a field goal for 4:34 as the Jazz pulled away.

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Detroit routed Milwaukee 114-69 to record a ninth straight win.

Richard Hamilton scored 22 points and Chauncey Billups added 13 points and 12 assists for the Pistons.

The 45-point margin of defeat was the third-worst in Bucks history, trailing a pair of 48-point losses. The Pistons have a franchise-record 15 wins in December, while Milwaukee has lost four straight.

In Chicago, Hedo Turkoglu hit a fadeaway jump-shot with seven-tenths of a second left in overtime to give Orlando a 112-110 overtime victory over Chicago.

It was Chicago's first loss in three games since Jim Boylan became interim head coach.

After Chicago's Ben Gordon hit a tying three with 6.7 seconds left, Turkoglu made a shot over Ben Wallace. The Magic's fourth win a row was secure when Wallace missed at the buzzer.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Gerald Wallace led a furious comeback in the fourth quarter and took charge in overtime, finishing with 36 points and giving Charlotte a 107-103 win over Indiana.

The Bobcats snapped a four-game losing streak by rallying from a 13-point deficit with under six minutes left in regulation, sending the Pacers to their fourth straight loss.

Wallace had two three-point plays late in regulation. He then hit two three-pointers in overtime and four free throws in the final 22 seconds, finishing with 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime combined.

Indiana lost for the sixth time after leading by double digits.

In Houston, Golden State overcame 21 turnovers to rally past Houston 112-95.

Baron Davis scored 23 points and Al Harrington had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who outscored Houston 37-15 in the final quarter to win for the 19th time in 26 games. Golden State coach Don Nelson was ejected in the second quarter for arguing with the referee.

In New Orleans, Toronto rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat New Orleans 97-92. Chris Bosh scored 29 points for the Raptors.

The Hornets' winning streak ended at five after Chris Paul committed a turnover with just over a minute to go and then missed a pair of free throws that could have given New Orleans the lead with 25.8 seconds left.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/02/2008 page24)